A burst of cyclonic activity at two extremes over the vastness of the Pacific ocean in recent days has generated the six named tropical cyclones we see this Tuesday 25 July 2017!

Infrared GOES satellite image of 25 July 2017 showing Hurricanes HILARY and IRWIN, and Tropical Storm GREG off the Pacific coast of Mexico

Tropical Storm GREG, a strengthening and about to become major Hurricane HILARY, and an also strengthening Hurricane IRWIN are active, and moving away from land, off the Pacific coast of Mexico over the northern East Pacific. This makes it a total of nine named tropical cyclones in the course of ten weeks in this quite active sub-basin for cyclogenesis.

Also on this day, more than 12,000 kilometers to the west, over the northwest Pacific, we see a strengthening Typhoon NORU and a decaying Tropical Depression KULAP to the west of Japan, a strong tropical wave designated as ‘Invest 99W’ by NOAA approaching the Philippines, and some 3.000 kilometers farther to the west Tropical Storm SONCA making landfall in Vietnam.

Quite a spectacle indeed, six named tropical cyclones and a possible seventh, all simultaneously active over the northern Pacific Ocean.

Closer to our neck-of-the-woods here in Florida, and the Gulf and Atlantic coastal regions the tropics are somewhat calm. There have been one off-season named tropical cyclone, ARLENE, in April, and three named storms since the ‘official’ start of the 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season, including short-lived Tropical Storm DON, which perished over the southeastern Caribbean just last week.

So, busy there, relatively quiet here, however we should keep in mind this is the time of the year when the northern tropics get busy with cyclonic activity. Get ready! Be prepared! MITIGATE!